- UK: Starmer faces calls to resign as regime admits ambassador to US failed vetting process
Source: CityNews Halifax [Canada]
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Thursday to resign after it emerged that Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance for the post of ambassador to the United States, which he was eventually fired from over his close links to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following the revelation in the Guardian newspaper, the government said Starmer was not aware that the Foreign Office had overruled a security vetting process for Mandelson to become U.K. ambassador to Washington ‘until earlier this week.’ Starmer has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.” (04/16/26)
- IL: Bomb threat at home of Pope Leo’s brother
Source: The Hill
“A bomb threat occurred at the home of the brother of Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday night, police in Illinois confirmed. The New Lenox Police Department issued a statement acknowledging the threat at the home, but after a comprehensive search, it was determined to be unsubstantiated.” (04/16/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5833902-pope-leo-brother-louis-prevost-bomb-threat
- Trader Joe’s to pay $7.4 million to settle suit over receipt information
Source: Independent [UK]
“A 10-number mistake is costing a popular grocery store a seven-figure settlement. Trader Joe’s has agreed to pay out a $7.4 million settlement for a 2019 receipt snafu, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents. Affected customers could receive an estimated $102.45, although the figure could change depending on how many people join the lawsuit. … The lawsuit began on July 17, 2019, when a customer filed a class-action lawsuit in Florida against Trader Joe’s, court documents note. He claimed the company printed receipts for debit and credit card transactions that included 10 digits of the card number. Card transaction receipts can show a maximum of the last five digits of a card number, per the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.” (04/16/26)
https://www.the-independent.com/us/money/trader-joes-receipt-lawsuit-b2959053.html
- IMF rules out augmentation of Egypt’s $8 billion loan program
Source: Middle East Online [UK]
“International Monetary Fund is not currently discussing an augmentation of Egypt’s two-year-old, $8 billion IMF loan program despite a severe impact from the Middle East war on the country’s economy, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday. … Speaking to reporters, Georgieva made it clear that the existing Extended Fund Facility arrangement, approved in late 2024, remains unchanged and that no talks are taking place to expand its size or scope. … The announcement comes as Egypt grapples with significant economic challenges triggered by the Iran-Gulf war that erupted on February 28. The conflict has disrupted regional energy markets, raised global oil prices, and created uncertainty in maritime trade routes, all of which have strained Egypt’s key revenue sources — particularly Suez Canal receipts and tourism.” (04/16/26)
https://middle-east-online.com/en/imf-rules-out-augmentation-egypt%E2%80%99s-8-billion-loan-program
- After Israel Weapons Vote, Schumer Faces New Calls to Step Aside
Source: Common Dreams
“Sen. Chuck Schumer faced fresh calls to step aside as the Senate Democratic leader on Wednesday after he broke with the overwhelming majority of his caucus and voted against a pair of resolutions aimed at preventing the Trump administration from selling more US bombs and bulldozers to Israel. ‘Mr. Schumer, you are out of touch with the base of this party, and with your own caucus,’ said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who first called on Schumer to resign as Democratic leader last year, in a short video posted to social media following Wednesday’s votes. ‘Step aside!’ The two resolutions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), called for halting the sale of around $450 million worth of bulldozers, 1,000-pound bombs, and related military equipment to the Israeli government, which has repeatedly used American weaponry to commit war crimes in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria.” (04/16/26)
- US regime confesses to three more maritime murders in Pacific
Source: Seattle Times
“U.S. military forces struck a vessel Wednesday in the eastern Pacific Ocean, [murdering] three men the Pentagon says were trafficking drugs. No U.S. personnel were harmed, the U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post. Several such strikes have been announced in recent days as the Trump administration continues its aggressive anti-cartel actions in international waters. At least 178 people have been [murdered] in the strikes since the effort began in early September, months before the U.S. raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.” (04/16/26)
- Europe has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left,” IEA head warns
Source: SFGate
“Europe has ‘maybe six weeks or so’ of remaining jet fuel supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations ‘soon’ if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called ‘the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,’ stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. ‘In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,’ he told The Associated Press.” (04/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/europe-has-maybe-6-weeks-of-jet-fuel-left-22209576.php
- Lebanon: Israeli strike destroys last bridge over Litani River
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into Lebanon’s south, according to a senior Lebanese security source, fully severing almost a tenth of Lebanon from the rest of the country, after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war. Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon on Thursday, notably in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was about to ‘overcome,’ in a briefing a day earlier. A senior Lebanese official said that Lebanon’s assessment was that Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made. Israeli warplanes also unleashed an intense barrage of strikes Thursday on the southern town of Nabatiyeh, sending giant plumes of black smoke billowing over the regional hub of southern Lebanon.” (04/16/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israeli-strikes-lebanon-litani-river-9.7165708
- Thomas warns progressivism is a threat to America
Source: Fox News
“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a blistering critique of modern-day progressivism in a rare public speech on Wednesday, describing the modern political philosophy as a threat to America’s founding principles. Speaking to a packed auditorium of students and faculty at the University of Texas at Austin to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas, the Supreme Court’s longest-serving justice, urged the nation to revisit the philosophical foundations of U.S. governance.” [editor’s note: I guess “progressives” aren’t buying him enough new RVs, buying enough houses from him and letting his relatives live there rent-free, etc. – TLK] (04/16/26)
- Judge who halted White House ballroom construction allows national security work to proceed at site
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge who halted construction of President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom clarified on Thursday that the administration can proceed with below-ground construction of a bunker and other ‘national security facilities’ at the site. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington issued his latest ruling in a lawsuit over the ballroom project several days after an appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction. Government lawyers had argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards. Leon had barred work from proceeding without congressional approval, but his March 31 order suspended enforcement of that order for two weeks. The appeals court extended that stay until Friday, but Leon stayed his latest decision for another week, which gives the administration more time to seek Supreme Court review.” (04/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/judge-who-halted-white-house-ballroom-22210176.php
- Turkey: Regime orders mass arrests over online praise for recent school shootings
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Turkish police have ordered the arrest of scores of people accused of either praising or spreading fake news about the country’s recent school shootings online. At least nine people died in a school shooting in the southern province of Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, and on Tuesday, a former student opened fire at a high school in the southeastern district of Siverek, injuring 16.” (04/16/26)
- American Heresy
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano“In 2008, Congress added Section 702 to FISA permitting warrantless surveillance of foreign persons who communicate with Americans. The FISA court interpreted 702 to permit warrantless surveillance of Americans to whom foreign persons had spoken, out to the sixth degree. Thus, if you call or email a hotel in Rome to book a room, you are subject to warrantless surveillance under 702. If you call your mom, she is subject. If she calls her sister, your aunt is subject to warrantless surveillance, and so forth to the sixth degree. Behold the monstrosity that FISA has wrought. Can the data gathered by this warrantless surveillance be used by the FBI for prosecution purposes, as an end run around the Fourth Amendment? Congress said yes. That’s the American heresy, as it directly defies the history, values and plain meaning of the Fourth Amendment.” (04/16/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/04/15/american-heresy
- Unfit to Govern: We Need a 25th Amendment for the American Police State
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead“[W]hat happens when the president appears unable to discharge the duties of his office in a rational, coherent, and responsible manner? In other words, what can we do when the president appears to be losing his mind? The Constitution provides a remedy. The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a process by which the government continues to function should the president be unable to carry out his duties. … while the president may be unraveling in plain sight, the machinery of the American Police State continues to expand—quietly, relentlessly, and with bipartisan support. Surveillance is expanding. Policing is becoming more militarized. Power is becoming more centralized and less accountable. And unlike the presidency, there is no 25th Amendment for the police state. No mechanism to declare it unfit. No procedure to remove it. Or is there?” (04/16/26)
- Why Donald Trump’s Blockade on Iran Won’t Work
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland“The Trump administration believes that the US Navy will prevent Iran from earning revenue from oil exports, while allowing other nations’ shipments to pass through the strait, thus resuming the transport of oil, gas, fertilizer, and other important items for global markets. This surgical outcome, however, may be harder to achieve than it looks. … The IRGC organized its navy around a meticulously planned asymmetric model—that is, like guerrilla fighters on land, it employs hit-and-run tactics against commercial shipping using small, fast attack boats and missile boats. More than 60 percent of the fast attack boats have survived US and Israeli air strikes. These smaller boats emerge from concealed underground pens or from hiding places among civilian boats, making them difficult for satellite reconnaissance to detect. Also, the boats can lay sea mines much faster than the slow, dangerous process of finding and neutralizing them.” (04/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/16/why-donald-trumps-blockade-on-iran-wont-work/
- What (and How) Should Our Students Be Taught Today?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Bert Olivier“Taken together, the seven liberal arts of the Trivium and Quadrivium formed the core undergraduate curriculum in medieval universities during the 12th and 13th centuries, serving as prerequisites for the study of philosophy and theology at a higher level. Considering that the Trivium was regarded as teaching students to master language and thought through the study of grammar, logic, and rhetoric – the ‘three ways’ of literary education – it may be seen as a powerful reminder to us today that unless one knows how to employ language at these three levels, it would be futile to proceed to a different, and higher, level of study, because an inadequate grasp of linguistic meaning, logical relations of validity, and the rhetorical nuances of speech would invalidate understanding at all further levels – even in computer science, where linguistic communication is as essential as in the humanities.” (04/16/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/what-and-how-should-our-students-be-taught-today/
- The Price of a Canadian Education?
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“At a convention of Canadian Liberals, tech executive Patrick Pichette proposed that youngsters eager to escape Canada be charged a half-million dollars for what he apparently regards as a privilege, not a right. We must remind ourselves that the word ‘liberal,’ here, is used in its modern, anti-liberal sense: of the ideology of ever-increasing restraints on everybody. Very illiberal. Even if Pichette means Canadian dollars, that’s still $360,000 in real USD dollars. Hardly a ten-dollar processing fee. More like extortion. He rationalizes that the kids owe that much anyway thanks to Canada’s heavily subsidized education system.” (04/26/26)
- They Always Tell You Why The Empire Uses Violence, But Never Why Its Enemies Do
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“One common feature of western empire propaganda is that we are always given reasons for the empire’s violence, while the violence of those who resist the empire tends to be framed as happening for no reason at all. We’ve all been fed reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, and we all know what those reasons are. Even less-informed members of the western public will have heard something about the Iranians being a nuclear threat, having a tyrannical government, and maybe something about sponsoring terrorist groups. But the so-called ‘peaceful protesters’ who were killed in an uprising fomented and facilitated by the United States? They were killed for no reason, simply because the Iranian government is evil and hates dissent. … It is only by pure coincidence that this happened at the exact same time the US empire was making the decision to try to topple the Iranian government.” (04/16/26)
- Deaths from Despair: Is Globalization a Health Risk?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux“Claims that NAFTA increased deaths among manufacturing workers overlook a key reality: most job loss stems from productivity gains, not trade.” (04/16/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/is-globalization-a-health-risk/
- Ambition, Character, and Liberty
Source: Liberalism.org
by Tom G Palmer“Roman moralists mistrusted ambition, which they connected to bribery and flattery. The powerful men around President Donald Trump show the dangers of ambition in its classical sense.” (04/16/26)
- Hungary Defeated Authoritarianism and So Can We
Source: Waging Nonviolence
by Daniel Hunter“On Sunday night, the streets of Budapest were filled. Tens of thousands of Hungarians poured into the streets along the Danube River, singing folk songs and waving flags celebrating the end of Viktor Orbán’s rule. A young man named Mark Szekeres, his face painted with the colors of the Hungarian flag, told CBC News: ‘This election was about a clash of civilizations. Either you belong in a Western-type democracy or an Eastern-type dictatorship.’ For 16 years, Orbán controlled the country as the classic strongman. Orbán’s electoral defeat was sound—so much so that he conceded defeat before all the votes were counted. Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party captured more than 53% of the vote and approximately 136 of 199 parliamentary seats, a supermajority decisive enough to undo the constitution and other laws that Orbán rewrote. The turnout alone was a verdict: nearly 80% of all eligible voters.” (04/16/26)
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2026/04/lessons-from-playbook-defeated-viktor-orban-hungary/
- The Rehabilitation of Ed Muskie?
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“US president Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order funding research into the possible benefits of ibogaine, CBS News reports. It will remain a ‘Schedule I’ drug, forbidden by law for you or me to just go pick up at the local pharmacy, but apparently Trump believes it’s worth looking into for use in treating PTSD and traumatic injury among American veterans. Good move, and good on Trump. It’s about time. Ibogaine’s been used abroad for decades to treat everything from substance abuse problems to depression. And therein lies a story. Return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear …” (04/16/26)
- High-minded help for nations low on fuel
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Japan, like much of Asia, which is highly reliant on Middle East oil and gas, announced Wednesday that it will provide $10 billion to many of its regional trade partners to find new supplies during the Strait of Hormuz crisis. As Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae put it, Asian countries ‘are mutually dependent’. Much of that money will go to Southeast Asia, where nations have reacted to the crisis by trying to revive a long-standing regional agreement to aid each other during a petroleum emergency. ‘What this crisis has confirmed is a structural truth: no single country in Asia can insulate itself from supply chain shocks of this scale by acting alone,’ said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.” (04/15/26)
- A Threat to the Constitutional Order
Source: Law & Liberty
by Peter J Wallison“Advocates of the unitary executive theory believe it reinforces the separation of powers. It actually destroys it.” (04/16/26)
https://lawliberty.org/a-threat-to-the-constitutional-order/
- Three Winners at the Latest DNC Meeting: Israel, Ethnic Cleansing, and Genocide
Source: Common Dreams
by Norman Solomon“In the aftermath of last week’s big meeting of the Democratic National Committee in New Orleans, supporters of the US-Israel alliance have been quite content. ‘We’re pleased that the DNC Resolutions Committee rejected a set of divisive, anti-Israel resolutions,’ the president of Democratic Majority for Israel said. The CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, a former national security advisor to Kamala Harris, expressed gratitude to the DNC’s leadership. Why did pro-Israel groups voice so much pleasure and praise—not only for the sidelining of pro-human-rights resolutions but also for the process that sidelined them? The answer has to do with the DNC’s mechanism that thwarted changes in positions on Israel. A panel named the Middle East Working Group gummed up all efforts to align the DNC with the views of most Democratic voters, even while supposedly hard at work.” (04/16/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/dnc-resolutions-israel-genocide
- Trump and Vance versus Pope Leo on War and Peace
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G HornbergerPresident Trump’s and Vice-President Vance’s criticisms of Pope Leo on matters of war and peace bring to mind important points that others have historically made about America’s current system of militarism, imperialism, warmongering, and the destruction of the liberty and well-being of the American people at the hands of their own government.” (04/16/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/16/trump-and-vance-versus-pope-leo-on-war-and-peace/
- Lebanon talks: A “farce” disguising something much more sinister
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Khaled Elgindy“What Israel and the US seek is not a peace deal but an agreement to turn the government in Beirut into something like the Palestinian Authority.” (04/16/26)
- You don’t need to live in China to experience China’s censorship
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin“You’re most likely reading this article from a country that is not China. So, naturally, you might think that China’s censorship laws have nothing to do with you. Not so fast. The interconnectedness of global commerce has created crevices for authoritarian censorship to seep in, and the latest news out of the Victoria and Albert Museum offers a perfect illustration of how it unfolds. The Victoria and Albert Museum, the United Kingdom’s famed art institution, joins the growing list of institutions that have consented to censorship rules imposed by the Chinese government in order to print goods more affordably in the country.” (04/16/26)
- Hegseth excoriates media, likening them to “Pharisees”
Source: Fox News
by Rachel del Guidice“Secretary of War [sic] Pete Hegseth ripped the media Thursday, likening them to Pharisees in the Bible who ‘were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda’. ‘A note to the press, to the press corps, to the American media, as I just can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage, you cannot resist peddling, despite the historic and important success of this effort and the success of our troops,’ Hegseth said during a press briefing on the war with Iran, at the Pentagon. … He went on to say that it was difficult to ‘figure out what side’ some of the press was on. ‘It’s incredibly unpatriotic,’ he said.” (04/16/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/hegseth-excoriates-media-likening-pharisees-trump-defense
- The Problem With Trump’s War Bombast
Source: The Dispatch
by Geoffrey S Corn“A U.S. president has suggested that he may order the destruction of an entire civilization. This is the same president who stated in an interview that he’“doesn’t need’ international law and the same president who appointed as his secretary of defense someone with a record of disparaging the importance of law and the role of legal advisers in relation to U.S. combat operations. … These laws matter. They matter because they strike a logical balance between the necessities of war and humanitarian protection. But they also matter because they protect our own forces — not just from what may happen if they fall into enemy hands, but by enabling them to live with the consequences of their actions.” (04/16/26)
- Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan” To Replace Obamacare Isn’t Much of a Plan
Source: Reason
by Peter Suderman“For the better part of a decade, Republicans ran on a single mantra when it came to health care: repeal and replace Obamacare. When the slogan was conceived, it made political and strategic sense. But Republicans never had a plan for what to replace it with. … In January 2026, Trump finally delivered something he dubbed ‘The Great Healthcare Plan.’ Whether it’s great might be a matter of debate. But it is in no way, shape, or form an actual plan.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/16/trumps-great-healthcare-plan-isnt-much-of-a-plan/
- The Iran War Exposes the Emptiness of American “Strength” in East Asia
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“For decades Washington has advertised its air and naval supremacy as the indispensable guarantor of global order. Recent events have shown this to be little but increasingly expensive theater. The 2026 Iran War has paused not with Iranian capitulation but in a cascade of humiliations that have permanently altered the strategic landscape. Washington’s vaunted power-projection capabilities proved unable to shield even its own forward bases, depleted critical munitions stockpiles, and ultimately ceded effective control of the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran. These lessons will not be lost on Beijing or Taipei.” (04/16/26)
- Aftermath: How the War Might Cancel Your Flight
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“Today, we’ll talk about jet fuel, the good news/bad news situation for China, and more. For the time being, yes. The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is starting to actually work, though the Iranian fuel kept in floating storage or already on the ocean is unaffected. Of course, the products a blockade does prevent from safe passage only deepens the damage to the global economy. There has been talk of more talks between the U.S. and Iran, but nothing finalized. I spent Wednesday in LAX and O’Hare Airport in Chicago, and things looked relatively normal. The (actually illegal) payments to TSA workers, despite lapsed appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security, meant that metal detectors were running full-speed, and my flight was full.” (04/16/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/16/aftermath-how-the-war-might-cancel-your-flight/
- Energy reliability is only as strong as its weakest wire
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Grant Stark“Adding more generation capacity without hardening the last-mile delivery network leaves the cake half-baked.” [editor’s note: Relying on centralized generation and long-distance transmission is the problem – TLK] (04/16/26)
https://fee.org/articles/energy-reliability-is-only-as-strong-as-its-weakest-wire/
- The Damage Still Done by Keynesian Economics, 90 Years On
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Richard M Ebeling“This year marks the 90th anniversary of the beginning of modern macroeconomics with the publication of John Maynard Keynes’s The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money on February 4, 1936. Few books have left such a mark on economic theory and, most certainly, on economic policy in so short a period of time.Ninety years after the appearance of The General Theory, many practical men of affairs and politicians in authority remain the slaves of defunct economists and academic scribblers.” (04/16/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/04/the-damage-still-done-by-keynesian-economics-90-years-on/
- Free Speech Future, episode 2
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Regulating AI: Who decides?” (04/16/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/free-speech-future-episode-ii-regulating
- Rising, 04/16/26
Source: The Hill
“Gavin Newsom trashes California’s Dem choices for gov; could Republicans win?” (04/16/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 04/16/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“The Complicit Lens US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza w/ Robin Andersen.” (04/16/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/17/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The State vs. Joby Weeks.” (04/16/26)
- The Libertarian Angle, 04/16/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Horror of the Income Tax.” (04/16/26)
- Underthrow Podcast, 04/16/26
Source: Underthrow
“Seven Vices Rotting Civilization from Within.” (04/16/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/seven-vices-rotting-civilization
- The Science of Politics, 04/15/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Why rural areas vote Republican despite worse health outcomes.” (04/15/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/why-rural-areas-vote-republican-despite-worse-health-outcomes
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 381
Source: Free the People
“Our Institutions Are Killing Conversations | Guest: Peter Boghossian.” (04/15/26)